With the help of his loyal protector Butler, 12-year-old genius Artemis Fowl, descendant of criminal masterminds, searches for his mysteriously missing father and discovers an ancient, underground civilization—the advanced realm of fairies. Deducing that his father's disappearance is connected to the mysterious fairy world, Artemis concocts a hazardous strategy, which lands him in a perilous game of wits with the all-powerful fairies.